The present invention relates to a method for processing payments of articles selected during electronic commerce, and more particularly, to a method for selecting and processing a payroll deduction plan as a way of paying for articles selected on an Internet vendor""s web site.
Advances in computer processing power and network communications have made information from a wide variety of sources available to users on computer networks. Computer networking allows network computer users to share information, software applications and hardware devices, and internetworking enables a set of physical networks to be connected into a single network such as the Internet. Computers connected to the Internet or connected to networks other than the Internet also have access to information stored on those networks. The World Wide Web (Web), a hypermedia system used on the Internet, enables hypertext linking, whereby documents automatically reference or link other documents located on connected computer networks around the world. Thus, users connected to the Internet have almost instant access to information stored in relatively distant regions.
A page of information on the Web may include references to other Web pages and may include a broad range of multimedia data including textual, graphical, audio, and animation information. Currently, Internet users retrieve information from the Internet, through the Web, by xe2x80x98visitingxe2x80x99 a web site on a computer that is connected to the Internet.
The web site is, in general terms, a server application that displays information stored on a network server computer. The web site accepts connections from client programs, such as Internet browser applications. Browser applications, such as Microsoft Explorer(trademark) or Netscape Internet Browser(trademark), allow Internet users to access information displayed on the web site. Most browser applications display information on computer screens and permit a user to navigate through the Web using a mouse. Like other network applications, Web browsing uses a client-server paradigm. When given a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a document, the browser application becomes a client and it contacts a server application specified in the URL to request the document. After receiving the document from the server application, the browser application displays the document to the user. When the browser application interacts with the server application, the two applications follow the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP). HTTP allows the browser application to request a specific article, which the server application then returns. To ensure that browser applications and server applications inter-operate unambiguously, HTTP defines the exact format for requests sent from the browser application to the server application as well as the format of replies that the server application returns.
As the number of physical networks connected to the Internet continues to grow, so too will the number of web sites that are accessible to Internet users and so too will commercial activity on the Internet. Providers of a wide range of products and/or services are continuously exploring new methods for promoting and selling them. Commercial vendors"" web sites are similar to other types of web sites except that they usually incorporate functionality to enable financial transactions between users and vendors.
Currently, during an electronic commerce transaction on the Internet, a consumer enters the URL of a vendor and the browser application requests a web page associated with the URL from the appropriate server application. The consumer may select articles displayed on the vendor""s web page and submit the selection to the vendor through the browser application. For example, a consumer on the Internet, wishing to purchase a software application, may enter the URL of a vendor into the browser application. The browser displays a corresponding web page and the consumer may order the software application on the web page through the browser application. Upon receiving the consumer""s selection, the vendor requests payment for the selected articles before delivering them to the consumer. The consumer may pay the vendor through credit cards or the vendor may require cash upon delivery of the selected articles. However, for consumers who do not have credit cards, do not wish to use credit cards, or do not have cash available at the time of delivery of the selected articles, this method of purchasing articles during electronic commerce is unsatisfactory.
Some employers currently offer, as a benefit to their employees, payroll deduction plans as a method of paying for predetermined products and/or services with predetermined vendors. Under the payroll deduction plan, the employer may deduct the cost of already purchased articles and/or services from an employee""s future pay checks. Before the employee can use the payroll deduction plan as a payment option, the employer must approve the total purchase amount and the vendor. While this scheme affords employees the option of purchasing products and services on future earnings, the list of predefined products/services and vendors is usually limited. Moreover, the payroll deduction payment option is not utilized in electronic commerce. As electronic commerce on the Internet grows, so too will the desire to use the payroll deduction plan as an option for on-line purchases.
The present invention relates to a method for selecting and processing a payroll deduction as a payment option for articles purchased during electronic commerce. An employer authorizes selected vendors involved in electronic commerce to accept the payroll deduction as a payment option for the employer""s employees. The employer and vendor establish guidelines for utilizing the payroll deduction option during electronic commerce and the vendor stores the guidelines and identifying information for the employer and corresponding employees in a database in the vendor""s computer. Alternatively, the employer may periodically provide a list with information about employees who qualify to participate in the payroll deduction plan and the vendor updates the database with the periodic list. Thereafter, when an employee selects articles from the vendor""s web site, the employee may select payroll deduction as the payment option. The vendor then places the employee""s total purchase and payment option in a file and forwards them to the employer. The employer may review the employee""s total purchase and instruct the vendor on how to process it. The vendor processes the selections according to the employer""s instructions and informs the employee about the status of the order. This method therefore affords authorized employees the option of using payroll deduction during electronic commerce.
Specifically in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, when an employee xe2x80x98entersxe2x80x99 the selected vendor""s web site and chooses articles to be purchased, the employee may select payroll deduction as the payment method. The employee is then asked to enter his/her e-mail address and to create a secret password. Thereafter, the employee may enter the respective on-line account with the e-mail address and password. The employee is also asked to enter a unique employer identifier. To ensure accurate employer information during each electronic commerce transaction, employees who previously utilized payroll deductions to pay for on-line purchases may be asked to update or confirm their employer information. The employee is then transferred to a confirmation page to confirm the types and quantities of selected articles, the employer""s information and the payroll deduction information. Upon confirming the information, the employee is requested to sign a financial responsibility agreement. Thereafter, the employee submits an electronic order for the selected articles to the vendor; the electronic order is processed by the vendor""s computer system and an order summary of the electronic order is placed in the appropriate employer""s holding file. A confirmation e-mail is also sent from the vendor to the employee. Each employer that participates in the vendor""s payroll deduction plan has a unique holding file where the employer is able to view an order summary for each employee.
The employer is contacted to approve or reject the employee""s order. If the payroll deduction transaction is approved, the order is released and processed by the vendor and an e-mail about the status of the order is sent to the consumer. Thereafter, the purchased article is sent to the employee and the appropriate amount is deducted from the employee""s future earnings. If the order is rejected, the employer may note a reason for the rejection or invite the employee to contact the employer for a reason. Moreover, the employer may either instruct the vendor to hold the order in the holding file or cancel the order from the holding file. Either way, the vendor sends an email about the status of the order to the employee.
If the employer does not respond to orders in the holding file within a predetermined time, a reminder notice is sent to the employer and employee. Another predetermined time is established and if the employer does not respond to the reminder notice within that specified period of time, the vendor cancels the order. An email notifying the employee about the cancellation is sent by the vendor.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a method for authorizing selected vendors to offer payroll deduction as a payment option to appropriate consumers during electronic commerce transactions and for establishing guidelines for the payroll deduction plan.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for allowing the consumer to select payroll deduction as a payment option during on-line shopping and for confirming the selection before it is submitted to a corresponding employer.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method for submitting the consumer""s selections to the corresponding employer, for contacting the corresponding employer to review the selection and to instruct on how it should be processed, and for processing the consumer""s selections based on the employer""s instructions.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the system particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides a method for selecting and processing payroll deduction as a payment option during electronic commerce between a pre-selected vendor and an employee of an employer, by authorizing, by the employer, the pre-selected vendor to offer payroll deduction as a payment option during electronic commerce between the pre-selected vendor and the employee; establishing, by the pre-selected vendor and the employer, guidelines for a payroll deduction plan; selecting, by the employee, articles to be purchased from the pre-selected vendor""s web site, confirming on a confirmation page the selected articles, the employer""s information, the employee""s information and the payroll deduction information and signing a financial responsibility agreement; submitting, by the employee to the pre-selected vendor, an electronic order with the selected articles; storing, by the pre-selected vendor, the electronic order in a holding file and contacting the employer to review an order summary of the electronic order; instructing the pre-selected vendor, by the employer, how to process the electronic order; and processing, by the pre-selected vendor, the electronic order based on the employer""s instructions.
An alternate embodiment of the present invention provides a system for selecting and processing payroll deduction as a payment option during electronic commerce between a pre-selected vendor and an employee of an employer, having means for authorizing, by the employer, the pre-selected vendor to offer payroll deduction as a payment option during electronic commerce between the pre-selected vendor and the employee; means for establishing, by the pre-selected vendor and the employer, guidelines for a payroll deduction plan; means for selecting, by the employee, articles to be purchased from the pre-selected vendor""s web site, means for confirming on a confirmation page the selected articles, the employer""s information, the employee""s information and the payroll deduction information and means for signing a financial responsibility agreement; means for submitting, by the employee to the pre-selected vendor, an electronic order with the selected articles; means for storing, by the pre-selected vendor, the electronic order in a holding file and means for contacting the employer to review an order summary of the electronic order; means for instructing the pre-selected vendor, by the employer, how to process the electronic order; and means for processing, by the pre-selected vendor, the electronic order based on the employer""s instructions.